Back In The Game

Thirteen-year-old Sarah Moss, a point guard on her eighth grade basketball team at Chisholm Trill Middle School, was dribbling the ball during the second game of the season, when a girl on the other team accidentally fell on her.Sarah fractured two bones in her ankle.

At the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Grapevine Emergency Department, doctors set one of the bones. The other required surgery with a metal plate and screws to hold the bone together, says her father, Mike.

Doctors prescribed therapy at the Baylor Scott & White – Grapevine Outpatient Physical Medicine program.At first Sarah’s recovery was slow due to an infection in her ankle that required treatment at the program’s hydrotherapy area for wound management. “At that time, Sarah had to use crutches and was not able to put any weight on her foot or ankle,” says Kammi Barnard, the senior physical therapist who treated the young athlete.

But finally, as the wound healed, Sarah began therapy at a rigorous level designed to put her back on the court.“These young athletes are very competitive and playing at a high level,” says Barnard.“It’s very different from treating someone who is returning to normal day-to-day activities. We needed to get Sarah to where she was even stronger than before and could compete more safely without risk of re-injury.”

Using therapeutic balls and other equipment, Sarah practiced exercises to strengthen her ankle and regain her balance and control.“Our older patients would watch and say, I hope I don’t have to do that, too,” says Barnard.

Now, after two months of therapy, Sarah’s dad she’s back on her feet, feeling good and ready to join a summer team to get in shape for this year’s school season.